EAST NORRITON — The namesake of Antoine Amrani Chocolates is shy and reluctant to trumpet his accomplishments as a chocolate maker.

But the CEO of the chocolate company has no such reluctance.

“If you’ve got the best of something you can build a business around that,” CEO Fred Potok said of the company’s products. Of the chocolatier-namesake, Amrani, he said: “He’s humble, a perfectionist, a savant. Those are the three words I would use to describe Antoine.”

For the chocolate company, “the best” may be a big claim, but Antoine Amrani Chocolates is finding a dedicated following — and so far has defied the economy.

For its first full year of business, it is projecting sales of $900,000 to $1.1 million. The company, which has 16 employees, spent $1.6 million on a factory, product development, and research and development, Potok said.

Antoine Amrani Chocolates — a box of which sells for $37 — are now available in DiBruno Bros. locations in Philadelphia and Dean & DeLuca stores in New York City and Washington, as well as in a growing number of specialty shops, including Green Aisle Grocery in South Philadelphia and Noel Sy Art & Beauty in Bala Cynwyd.

Gourmet magazine, which said early this month it would close, was to have featured the chocolate company in its January issue.

Despite a weak economy, Americans are still buying chocolate, particularly the fancier varieties. U.S. sales of chocolate are expected to hit $18 billion by 2011, up from $16 billion in 2006, according to Rockville, Md.-based Packaged Facts, a research group. Of that, premium chocolate will account for 25 percent of sales in 2011, up from 17 percent five years earlier.

Antoine Amrani Chocolates has a few new recipes in the works, though it has steered clear of adding bacon for now. Flavors include banana rum, almond crisp, coffee sour cherry, Earl Grey, cinnamon honey, hazelnut praline, among others.

Amrani grew up in Europe and trained at Paris’ Ritz Escoffier School. He worked his way up to being executive pastry chef at Le Bec-Fin in Philadelphia.

“It [was] my childhood dream to be a chocolatier. At Le Bec-Fin, I worked with Georges Perrier, one of the most talented and respected French chefs in the U.S. — and an absolute perfectionist. It was at Le Bec-Fin where I honed my craft,” said Amrani.

That’s where CEO Potok and his partner Martha Seidner met Amrani. As regular customers at Le Bar Lyonnais, the downstairs at Le Bec-Fin, Potok and Seidner got to know Amrani. Potok, who founded the advertising firm FloorGraphics and considers himself an entrepreneur at heart, encouraged Amrani to start his own chocolate company.

In April 2007, Amrani called Potok and asked if he would consider going into business, with Amrani as the chocolate chef and Potok as operations manager. By that point, Amrani was getting offers to go back to Europe.

“During my tenure as executive pastry chef, I received a phone call from a top executive of one of the biggest chocolate companies in the world,” said Amrani, though he did not want to name the chocolate company. “They had tasted my chocolates and wanted me to come work for them and create a line for them. I knew it was time to devote my efforts to creating my own line, and felt confident in taking the next steps to starting the business.”

At first, while Potok set up a factory, Amrani made chocolate in his Devon kitchen.

By this April, the firm moved into 7,000 square feet in a corporate park in East Norriton. The site is outfitted with chocolate-making equipment from Europe, as well as sophisticated cooling systems. There’s also a small retail area on site.

To create attractive packaging for the chocolate, Potok hired Glen Ridge, N.J.-based Smith Design, where Seidner is a vice president.

The packaging had to have what the company called “eye appeal.” To research what was on the market, including chocolate products themselves but also packaging, Seidner combed the shelves of Dean & DeLuca.

Smith Design designed gift boxes and packaging, but also created the designs on the chocolates themselves. Where possible, it used sustainably produced products.

Going forward, Potok said, the company is looking for “the perfect investor,” someone with experience in entrepreneurism, with business relationships and experience in the food-and-beverages industry. It is looking for an investment of $400,000 to $500,000.

Comments

If you are commenting using a Facebook account, your profile information may be displayed with your comment depending on your privacy settings. By leaving the 'Post to Facebook' box selected, your comment will be published to your Facebook profile in addition to the space below.